How to use this Page

Etsy, as you might know, is a flourishing online marketplace for independent artists, designers, and antiquers to sell and trade their wares. There are thousands of items in a ton of categories, from zines to custom-made wedding gowns to homemade soap and vintage lunchboxes. It’s not all great–they don’t have a parody site, Regretsy (NSFW), for nothing–but there are some gems. Here are some items available on Etsy that might spruce up your teen section, serve as a great prize for a reading contest, or just suit your own librarian style. And what’s better? Start a conversation with your craftiest patrons about what they’d do with an Etsy storefront, or use your library Pinterest account to pin all of your favorite (or most laughable) Etsy products.

Librarians Dewey It Better badge:
There’s a little bit of pin-up girl in all of us. This patch by user BadgesbyQuake will let you shout that out to anyone who sees your…tote bag?

Build-a-Library Invitation:
Okay, so this isn’t really for the library, but it’s such an adorable idea I couldn’t resist! This is an excellent theme idea by user lilmoptop for a fellow librarian’s baby shower or wedding–or, frankly, any occasion, because who isn’t always building their personal library?

Vintage Children’s Book Mobile:
If you’re looking to spruce up your children’s or teens’ section with something other than the latest READ poster, this mobile by user theshophouse, made up of intricately folded pages from a vintage book, seems like just the thing.

Art Doll Miniatures:
Gah! These handmade dolls by user UneekDollDesigns of famous historical figures and book characters are to die for! If you can spring for a few, you can set them out for themed months or put your own craft hat on and throw them in a diorama you make. With so many options, from Madeleine l’Engle to Walt Whitman, you’ll probably want to buy quite a few more than your wallet will let you.

Author Magnets:
More author goodness! With these handmade magnets by user TurtleDoves, plus maybe some magnetic paint if your director will let you redecorate your section, you can start a “fridge.” Next step: magnetic poetry slams.

Shakespeare and Company print:
Inspire your teens to drink coffee, wear black, and write poetry with this print of Paris’ famed bookstore by user robert

Yesterday, I stumbled across Figment, a young writers' and readers' community and website.  The audience is teens and above and the books featured are mostly YA fiction.  Young authors can read each others works.  There are throwdowns in which literary characters are pitted against each other and submitted to a vote.  Right now, a Gritty Girl contest is waging, with Hermione Granger besting Katniss Evedeen but in a stalemate against Buffy.

Best-selling YA books can be purchased through this site.  Sometimes there are author interviews.  Plenty of forums are offered for people who want to interact with other members of the Figment community.  The site even has a forum dedicated to GRAMMAR.  (Wow!)

I joined, for what that's worth.  I'm a lurker right now.

I just returned from a PSFK Good Ideas Salon at YouTube where the topic was managing online communities. It's funny because I went to another gathering this week that focused on community as well though it seemed more about leveraging community for... Read the rest of this post